Compromiso País - Para que ningún chileno se quede atrás (Country Commitment - to leave no one behind) - a multi-stakeholder program with the objective to design and implement solutions to complex problems that affect vulnerable groups.

#SDGAction42925

Description

Intro

During the last decade, monetary poverty in Chile has been descending steadily, from 29.1% in 2006 to 8.6% in 2017. But a recent stagnation of Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) has been transformed in an important call for action. With the idea of “leaving no one behind”, Compromiso País is a multi-stakeholder program with the objective to design and implement solutions to complex problems that affect vulnerable groups. The initial focus is in 16 vulnerable groups, implementing working groups among the public and private sector, academia, civil society and the government, establishing a process in which the solutions are designed, implemented and evaluated collaboratively.

Objective of the practice

Compromiso País is a new way of addressing social problems through a common understanding of every sector of society, making them work together in order to solve the most pressing challenges of our society (so that in Chile no one is left behind). Besides the disruptive way of approaching these problems, these 16 groups take different social areas addressing different Social Development Goals, based on the Multidimensional Poverty Index, current social programs, interviews with civil society and a public consultation. 
Working Groups gathered to solve the challenges for the following Vulnerable groups (and its relationship to the SDGs): 
1. People living without drinking water or bathroom in their households. SDG: 1, 6, 10. 
2. Women suffering from intrafamily violence without personal income. SDG: 1, 5, 16. 
3. People living in crowded conditions or slums. SDG: 1, 11. 
4. Children living under the care of Child Welfare System. SDG: 1, 10, 16. 
5. People in situation of dependence (moderate and severe) living alone or institutionalized. nSDG: 1, 3, 10. 
6. Children not attending to school. SDG: 1, 4, 10. 
7. People with alcohol and drugs abuse. SDG: 1, 3, 10. 
8. People over 18 years old without 12 years of schooling completed. SDG: 1, 4, 10. 
9. People with a delay on access to State health care. SDG: 1, 3, 10. 
10. People who claim to have seen drug trafficking or shootings in the last month. SDG: 1, 11, 10. 
11. People unemployed for 3 months or more and people without a work contract. SDG: 1, 8. 
12. Families in which a member is functionally dependent (moderate and severe). SDG: 1, 3, 10. 
13. Homeless people. SDG: 1, 10. 
14. Indigenous people in the first two income quintiles. SDG: 1, 10, 16. 
15. Prisoners without re-entry programs. SDG: 1, 8, 10, 16. 
16. Locations without internet connection. SDG: 1, 9, 10.

Partners

Compromiso País articulates the dialog between everyone in the society that was helping each vulnerable group. The Ministry of each sector was asked to confirm if the problems that were being prioritized were consistent with their mission; private sector was engaged by the interest they were demonstrating with their actions on a certain group, civil society was recommended by the directives of the Civil Society Organization and the academia by the publications they made. Every member of the working group acknowledges that they are responsible of improving the lives of the people of each vulnerable group.

Implementation of the Project/Activity

Compromiso País was created with the intention that everyone in the society with interest in helping these vulnerable people talk and converge into a common approach. This approach is innovative because of the different stakeholders that are being invited to the working group. For ensure that we let the groups emerge with their own way of approaching the challenge for a little while. However, the tables were accompanied by an expert consultant form Virtus Partners, they had the mission of enable the dialogue, focusing on the form.

In order to ensure a proper working methodology, the Undersecretary of Social Evaluation proposed a process based on the theory of change and the ex – ante process that every social program in the State went through in the budgeting process. This methodology is focused on the idea of having diagnosis in place, evaluating several alternatives with established criteria, establishing indicators (outcomes and outputs) and estimating the costs of the intervention. This framework also includes a monitoring mechanism according to the diagnosis and intervention stages.

Also, with the methodology we established a common language across the working groups, with which every component of the process will be communicated for everyone to see the progress that each working group is making.

All of these processes are taken place from October 2018, when Compromiso País was launched. The methodology was proposed in December 2018 and the diagnosis phase is planned to be completed by March 2019. Despite this, the process has a “spiral form”, meaning that the diagnosis can be modified if the intervention analysis result in a new direction or stablish a new specification in the target group that redefines the diagnosis.

Results/Outputs/Impacts

Because the initiative is still in the diagnosis phase we don’t have indicators that can evidence the results of the initiative. Despite that, the cooperation between every sector in the society for addressing social problems has been communicated and published, attracting a great deal of attention in Chile. Many sectors in the society have shown interest in being added to the working groups or are making new ones like the one recently formed about child abuse by the Undersecretary of Childhood.

Enabling factors and constraints

The Ministry of Social Development is in charge of the coordination of the entire social policy of the State. Because of this mission, Compromiso País (with its main office in the Ministry of Social Development) was able to suggest the initial vulnerable groups, some of which are responsibilities of other Ministries, without overstepping in theirs missions. Additionally, the Social Development Ministry is the Executive Secretariat of the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda at a national level, so it is recognized as an authority in the field: this is an important enabling condition.
Other enabling conditions was the fact that the Social Development Minister, Alfredo Moreno, already had experience from the Private Sector in making representatives from different sectors of the society talk about important social issues. He organized a pilot for Compromiso País with the reentry into society for ex-convicts. The successful results from this Pilot were evidence in order to deicide to pursue this endeavor on a bigger scale.
Besides these elements, the government had been driving a strong agenda based on the common agreements between different sides of the society in main social issues like childhood, health, economy, and so on. This spirit has set the course and established that “Chile is being made by everyone” (“Chile lo hacemos todos”).

Sustainability and replicability

Compromiso País is an initiative from the current government. Nevertheless, the idea is to generate a commitment among representatives from different spheres and political sides based on the success of these first steps in the 16 working groups. This success will have evidence associated to the intervention and their indicators, so everyone can see for themselves the progress that is being made with Compromiso País.
The initiative provides a “controlled environment” to test new ways of approaching social problems that the government by themselves can’t. The whole idea is to gather new evidence to implement new solutions on a bigger scale.
All of this can be implemented in other areas that indeed are of common interest. For example, in the environmental area, it could be organized a working group among the Ministry of Environment, the private sector (a mining enterprise), a representative of the civil society (an ONG) and an academic interested on climate change. They can follow the same process of the working groups: through dialogue they can establish a diagnosis, propose interventions, define indicators and make a positive impact in the problem under study.

Conclusions

With the idea of “leaving no one behind”, Compromiso País is a multi-stakeholder program with the objective to design and implement solutions to complex problems that affect vulnerable groups. The main focus of the program is on the problems and the novel methodology defined to develop solutions: the initial effort started with a focusi in 16 vulnerable groups, implementing 16 initial working groups among the public and private sector, academia, civil society and the government, establishing a process in which the solutions are designed, implemented and evaluated collaboratively. Compromiso País is a new way of addressing social problems through a common understanding of every sector of society, making them work together (so that in Chile no one is left behind). Besides the disruptive way of approaching these problems, these 16 groups take different social areas addressing different Social Development Goals, based on the Multidimensional Poverty Index, current social programs, interviews with civil society and a public consultation.

Other sources of information

Official website:http://www.compromisopais.cl/
Main published articles and news stories: https://www.emol.com/noticias/Nacional/2018/10/17/924156/Compromiso-Pai…
https://www.latercera.com/politica/noticia/compromiso-pais-pinera-prese…
https://www.24horas.cl/politica/pinera-lanza-programa-compromiso-pais-q…
http://www.t13.cl/radio/politica/conexion-tele13/noticia/gobierno-expli…\
Official statements: https://prensa.presidencia.cl/discurso.aspx?id=84628
https://prensa.presidencia.cl/comunicado.aspx?id=84674

SDGS & Targets

Goal 9

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Goal 4

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Goal 8

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Goal 6

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Goal 2

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Goal 10

Reduce inequality within and among countries

Goal 11

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Goal 5

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Goal 16

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels